At the end of the day at Barbers, I spent an extra $30 to take the car on the big track for a few(4 I think) of what they call "Parade Laps"
It was a lot of fun, and I was surprised how fast they actually let us go. Nothing like racing speed of course, but I did push the car.
Problem is, the car started overheating after the second lap.
The coolant was low, so I added water, but it was overheating again by the time I got home that evening. I refilled the radiator the next morning, but it was soon overheating again, so I dropped by HESCO. They ran some tests, and found there was a busted head gasket, coolant in two cylinders, and a leak in the radiator... Bummer!
It took me a couple of days to get some kind of estimate from the mechanic: about 8-9 hours and $1500 in the best of cases(just replace the head gasket). Experience has taught me that the "best of cases" almost never happens at the mechanic shop, so I figured at least $2500...
I decided to get my hands dirty and do it myself. After all, I used to work on my car all the time in the 60's and 70's . So I drove the car home carefully.
I needed cover and was going to buy a tent from Harbor Freight to put up in front of my workshop. As it turned out, my friend Charles had a 10ft x 15ft tent, and we put it up on Sunday:
with the door wide open, it extends my workshop nicely:
Took the head off on Monday. It had a couple of tiny cracks near the spark plug hone in two cylinders, and I took it to be completely rebuilt. I also took the radiator to be flushed, checked, and repaired if necessary, but I believe the leak was at the hose coming in the lower part of the radiator.
I thought I would have the car back running by next Sunday. But then I checked the cylinder bores for scratches, and discovered two deep gouges in cylinder #1:
They had to be made by a big piece of metal, and Landers' guess was that the clip holding the piston pin got loose. It makes sense, but what we do not know is whether the clip was replaced, or is still missing, in which case the pin could slip out and create havoc.
As much as I hate the time and expense involved, I have no choice at this point but pull the engine, have it checked, and have a new sleeve put in. I can't do it here, so I will call AAA on Tuesday to haul the car down to Landers.
It was a lot of fun, and I was surprised how fast they actually let us go. Nothing like racing speed of course, but I did push the car.
Problem is, the car started overheating after the second lap.
The coolant was low, so I added water, but it was overheating again by the time I got home that evening. I refilled the radiator the next morning, but it was soon overheating again, so I dropped by HESCO. They ran some tests, and found there was a busted head gasket, coolant in two cylinders, and a leak in the radiator... Bummer!
It took me a couple of days to get some kind of estimate from the mechanic: about 8-9 hours and $1500 in the best of cases(just replace the head gasket). Experience has taught me that the "best of cases" almost never happens at the mechanic shop, so I figured at least $2500...
I decided to get my hands dirty and do it myself. After all, I used to work on my car all the time in the 60's and 70's . So I drove the car home carefully.
I needed cover and was going to buy a tent from Harbor Freight to put up in front of my workshop. As it turned out, my friend Charles had a 10ft x 15ft tent, and we put it up on Sunday:
with the door wide open, it extends my workshop nicely:
Took the head off on Monday. It had a couple of tiny cracks near the spark plug hone in two cylinders, and I took it to be completely rebuilt. I also took the radiator to be flushed, checked, and repaired if necessary, but I believe the leak was at the hose coming in the lower part of the radiator.
I thought I would have the car back running by next Sunday. But then I checked the cylinder bores for scratches, and discovered two deep gouges in cylinder #1:
They had to be made by a big piece of metal, and Landers' guess was that the clip holding the piston pin got loose. It makes sense, but what we do not know is whether the clip was replaced, or is still missing, in which case the pin could slip out and create havoc.
As much as I hate the time and expense involved, I have no choice at this point but pull the engine, have it checked, and have a new sleeve put in. I can't do it here, so I will call AAA on Tuesday to haul the car down to Landers.
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